West Point grad to head foundation

Coming from southern California, Michael Kwinn always followed Pac-10 football, and one of his favorite players was Pat Tillman.

Justin Rodriguez

Coming from southern California, Michael Kwinn always followed Pac-10 football, and one of his favorite players was Pat Tillman.

Kwinn loved how the 5-foot-11 Tillman played linebacker for Arizona State like he was 6-3. Kwinn rooted for Tillman in the NFL with the Cardinals and when he gave up his budding career to be an Army Ranger.

Like so many Americans, Kwinn was shocked when Tillman was killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan in 2004 at the age of 27. Tillman's legacy lives on through the Pat Tillman Foundation, and Kwinn is now a part of it.

Kwinn, a 1984 West Point graduate who lives in Monroe, has been named president and chief executive officer of the Pat Tillman Foundation.

"This is amazing, incredible; it's humbling," said Kwinn, who served as an Army officer for 25 years, retiring in 2009. "Pat was an outstanding man of character, committed to his beliefs. To be associated with Pat Tillman is an honor. His story has always been very moving to me."

The Pat Tillman Foundation is not-for-profit — its mission is to invest in military veterans and their families. In 2008, it created the Tillman Military Scholars program, which has issued more than $2.2 million in scholarships to veterans and their dependents. The Pat Tillman Foundation, which overall has invested more than $4 million in educational resources, also provides developmental experiences for these Tillman Military Scholars.

Kwinn has worked for several not-for-profits, including as president for the Friends4Michael Foundation, established and named after Kwinn's 14-year-old son who died of a brain tumor in 2003. Kwinn previously worked at Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity in Aberdeen, Md., commuting home to Monroe on weekends.

The Pat Tillman Foundation is based in Tempe, Az., and Kwinn, 49, will do a lot of traveling. He said the foundation is looking to open another office in Washington D.C. or in the New York City area.

"We found Michael Kwinn to be a person of unquestionable trust and integrity during the search process," said Marie Tillman, Pat Tillman's widow and chairwoman of the Tillman Foundation, "and are confident that he will be able to lead us into a new era of service to both military families and the greater community. Michael has tremendous pride in his military background, and we believe that he will help make the Tillman Scholars program even more significant and prestigious than it already is."